Yesterday I noticed how much the raspberries have leafed out. That is one of my favorite things in early spring. When I see those leaves I know that the growing season is upon us.

After the excitement of finding the leaves had passed, I checked on the branches I had tipped in last fall. They all have rooted and look great. The new plants will be cut free from their mother plants in a few weeks. Within two or three years I should begin seeing fruit from these new plants.

I have these plants and the ones that were cut free last fall to plant this spring. I have a location for them, but a raised bed still needs to be built. I plan on getting to that very soon.

I’ll see you in the backyard!

Today I checked on the raspberry shoots I buried in pots around August 1. Roots have formed and it won’t be long until they can be cut free of the mother plants.

I’m anxious to have that step completed. When the new plants are removed I can do any necessary pruning on the established plants. It looks as if I may be able to start one more crop of plants. The berries put on a lot of growth since the first plants were started. Any new plants I tip in will remain there until spring.

The only problem I had found was that a few shoots came out of their pots. This was likely due to high wind gusts pulling the limbs free of their pots.

I’ll need to build a raised bed for these new plants. If the bed isn’t completed this fall, the plants will be heeled in and mulched heavily for the winter.

I’ll be posting pictures of the new plants and the next round of tipped in plants soon. I’m very pleased with how well they turned out.

I’ll see you in the backyard!

I checked on the raspberry plants I started in pots around the first of August. I carefully removed a few plant tips from the soil and found they are already rooting. I expect to be able to cut the new plants free of the mother plants around mid September.

Stay tuned for a final report and photos of those new plants.

I’ll see you in the backyard!

I have begun the propagation of a few new black raspberry plants. This is a project that I’m starting earlier this year than I have in the past. There is substantial growth to work with this year, which allows for the earlier start.

I was working with the black raspberries because they are of the trailing variety. This means that as they grow they trail back down toward the ground. ( Think of a fountain in shape ) This is usually a project I do in the fall. It is usually then I have the necessary growth to work with.

I began by filling a few recycled pots about half full with a compost mix. I then collected all the trailing limbs and put them in the pots. More than one can be put in a pot. Once the tips of the limbs are in the pots, they can be covered with additional compost mix.

That’s all there is to do other than keeping the soil mix in the pots moist. After a few weeks have passed I’ll check for root growth on the limb tips in the soil. Once a substantial amount of roots have grown the limbs can be cut free. The new plants can then be separated and taken out of the pots and given a permanent home.

Usually I do this later in the year and just bury the tips in the ground. With this earlier start the plants can be set out in the fall or just mulched in and be waiting for me in the spring.

I’ll see you in the backyard!

I’m very glad I put out my rain barrels when I did. In the last twelve hours 1.2″ of rain has fallen in my rain gauge. The four barrels are at least half full. That’s 100 gallons of water that won’t cost me a dime. None of the plants will be too thirsty for a few days anyway. It’s still raining now.

The storms of the past few days, mostly wind up until last night, didn’t cause much damage. A few sticks and limbs down was the worst of it. I don’t think any plants here will show any adverse effects.

My only concern is for a few rows of late planted seeds. My hope is the ground will dry out enough that they will germinate. If the ground stays saturated for too long the seeds may rot in the ground.

Now I’ll just wait for everything to dry up. Those sticks and limbs can be chipped and shredded and used as mulch for the raspberries.

I’ll see you in the backyard!

This is my favorite part of the spring season.

My garden is nearly all planted. All that is left are the pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn and a row of sunflowers.

The landscape project I was working on has been completed.

Now I have time for the fun stuff. Watching it all grow!

It is also time to begin the smaller projects, I’m planning an arbor to grow birdhouse gourds on. I want to build a raised bed to plant more raspberries in. I’ve also been working on a couple of rain barrels. I have lots of project ideas.

I’d better hurry before the weeds start to grow!

I’ll see you in the backyard!

There are times we forget things. What variety of tomato was our favorite last year? What was the name of that plant by the garage?

Here’s a suggestion to help with that.

When adding a new plant to the landscape, note its location and name on a sheet of paper. Keep the paper in a three ring binder. Take the tag from that new plant and punch or drill a small hole through it. It can then go in the binder as well.

You’ll not only have a name and location, but all the information pertaining to the plant. The best part is it will be all in one place.

This same procedure will work in the vegetable garden as well.

I’ll see you in the backyard!

Today I was finally able to complete my work in the raspberry patch.

It mostly consisted of transplanting those I had rooted in late last summer.

A trailing raspberry can be rooted by burying a branch in the soil. It will produce roots and can then be separated from the mother plant.

Those plants were cut loose and dug up. They were then replanted in a mix of soil and compost,

I then added a fresh layer of compost to the established plants. They then received a layer of mulch. In this instance, it was grass clippings.

An added note: Upright growing berries produce additional plants from their roots. these can be transplanted by carefully digging them free of the mother plant.

I’ll see you in the backyard!

Welcome to The Backyard Gardener. I hope you will enjoy this as much as I enjoy writing it.

My goal is to help everyone get the most out of their gardening experiences. It doesn’t matter whether you are growing vegetables or plants, wondering what perennials would work best in that shady spot, or have other questions about anything else; I’m here to help.

Here is a sampling of things I’ll be including:

• At the Garden Gate (page) – To answer your questions and offer helpful tips
• In the Shed (category) – Covers hand an powered tools; includes tips for care and maintenance, and purchasing suggestions
• Birds and Bees (category) – Here you can read all about beneficial insects, birds, and related items

There are many things I hope to cover throughout the year; but much will depend on your questions and requests.

Spring is upon us, so I’ll begin with typical springtime projects. When summer arrives, I’ll cover ways to get more abundant harvests from our gardens. As fall approaches, it will be time to harvest the last of our plantings, and hope to extend the growing season as long as possible. That will also be the time for lawn and yard cleanup, and preparing our tools for winter storage.

I hope to finish the year off with topics such as: choosing and caring for a live Christmas tree; decorating; and gift ideas for the gardener.

I’ll see you in the backyard!